Sunday, June 29, 2014

National Stadium - Singapore Chinese Orchestra [Our People, Our Music 2014: My Home - Singapore!] @ Singapore Sports Hub

I am a person who dislikes crowds. Hence, i am rarely excited by any kind of new openings; be it theme park, movie, exhibitions, attractions or other heavily promoted events. 

The latest opening to hit Singapore would have to be the newly minted Singapore Sports Hub! I would likely stay away given its recent hype if not for my old friend, Andrew, who kindly passed me four complimentary tickets  to watch a music performance by Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO)! 

Knowing from the news that parking would be a major issue, my attempt to pre-pay for a car park lot (yes, there is indeed such a service limited to the sports hub) ended in failure as everything was sold out! There was no other choice but to take the train to Stadium station via the Circle Line. 

My first look at the stadium which wasn't much close-up. Like any new buildings nowadays, landscaping work was still ongoing with most offices / commercial entities not ready to be operational. 

H&M was open for business yet there is a more serious problem on hand; a lack of food options in Kallang Wave Mall. I believe this would be rectified in due course as many vendors were still renovating the premises. I also noticed that Fun Toast (owned partially by my cousin) would be opening a branch in the shopping mall as well! 

There are much much more to the Sports Hub, especially sports facilities! However, we didn't have time to explore as dinner was a question mark and the SCO performance would end at only about 9pm. 

Figured it might be advantageous to enter the stadium first as there was a good chance that we can find food / drinks in the food kiosks usually located within stadiums. Furthermore, it was free seating for our section! 

100PLUS Promenade - quite obvious that the isotonic drink company has donated quite a large sum of money to have this naming privilege. 

Map of the entire stadium with its 23 gates. 

Unlike Beijing's impressive bird nest stadium, the new national stadium in Singapore didn't quite stand out as far as architectural design is concerned even though its dome, at a diameter of over 300 meters, is one of the world's largest! 

With glaring evidence of patching work still in progress, i guess many people would have assumed that there must have been an urgent need to open the stadium. I can empathise with the vendor provider since bookings have already been accepted with the inaugural event on 21 June 2014.

Climbing up the stairs after entering Gate 14. At this point, i was fairly eager to see what would appear right in front of me! 

Well, it was another level where we could take a piss before officially stepping into the stadium. So much for the enthusiasm although there was another greater issue on hand; that of food remember?!!?

We were too lazy to check out the rest of the food vendors and proceeded to order from the Snag Bar. Business was so good; we had to wait twenty minutes for our hot dog! 

Without further ado, let me present to you Singapore's national stadium! 

Compared to the old stadium, this new installation has the same capacity to hold a maximum of 55,000 people. It was argued in the media a number of years ago that the new stadium should have a much higher capacity but that was eventually deemed to be non-viable in the long term since it would be an uphill chore to fill up the seating, except for national days! 

What i did like about this new stadium is the open segment that gives way to a landscape view of downtown Singapore! I am aware it isn't as dazzling as that of the central business district at Marina Bay Floating Platform. Better than nothing okay!? 

A key feature of this multi-purpose stadium (it can host rugby, cricket, football and athletic) is the retractable roof which means any event can continue even if it is pouring outside! Note: a twenty-minute wait is needed. 

Some of you would remember how relentlessly hot it can be to be seated in the old stadium. This would be of a lesser issue in this new setup as behind each seat is a piping system that blows out cool air!

Why the use of red and white chairs? I initially thought it would be related to the national colours of Singapore; red and white. The answer is much complicated; it is an optical illusion to trick the eyes into thinking there is a crowd even if there is none. 

A spectacular panorama of the stadium; am i the only one who thought the design felt a bit like a lady bird that was half ready to spread out its wings? 

Now, let's talk about the music performance by Singapore Chinese Orchestra [Our People, Our Music 2014: My Home - Singapore!]. 

I am not musically inclined and could barely hold a decent note when it comes to karaoke. Having said that, i do enjoy listening to music and remember attending a Chinese orchestra performance that took my breath away.

Different from conventional Chinese orchestra performances, what i experienced yesterday was unprecedented as it was said to involve around 5,000 performers with a target audience of 30,000!

That's not all; this mega event would also attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest Chinese Drum Ensemble! This has, no doubt, attracted many photographers to the venue. 

Musicians streaming in to take their seats. Wait, are those cellos?!!??! According to wikipedia (here), it is quite acceptable to have cellos for Chinese orchestras. 

My hotdog! Tasted almost like its delicious cousin in IKEA long time ago (honestly, IKEA's hotdogs cannot make it nowadays), this was way more expensive at S$5 each.

Drummers taking their place. 

Anything strange from this photograph? The roof has already been retracted and goondu me didn't even notice! Was it that silent or the people surrounding me were too noisy?!

The sky had darken; the musicians were ready; the audience were waiting; one person was still missing. The guest of honour; SCO Patron and Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Hsien Loong! 

Taken in my boredom as i played around with the shutter speed of my Nikon D7100. The effect turned out to be quite nice so i might as well share it here. :P 

Okay, PM Lee had arrived! Excuse me for the poor picture quality; my view was blocked and i would like to emphasise again that i am just an amateur when it comes to photography.

Opening segment consisted of a light show that illuminated the entire stadium in various shades of colours. Is there necessary? I don't think so as i attended for a music performance. Nonetheless, having more is often better than having less. 

Remember, i am a music idiot. I knew something was playing even though i am not exactly aware which classical piece is it. From the informative booklet, i guess it should be The introduction from Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op.30".

Second segment was much easier - musical tunes from Teresa Teng songs that often bring to many, nostalgic memories of their past. 

The next piece was a combined effort between the orchestra and Singapore's only World Wushu Champion; ex Mediacorp actor Vincent Ng! Music performed was the theme song from Once Upon a Time in China (黃飛鴻 - 男兒當自強).

My camera could only zoom in to around 200mm and this is insufficient to capture Vincent Ng performing his highly acclaimed martial arts. The available screens were also too small for audience seated on the sides. 

Sadly, i think the fireworks at the Marina Bay floating platform have also drawn away the attention of the audience. I mean, which can resist exploding fireworks right in front of you?! I can't. 

Many in the spectator seats were taking videos / screenshots of the musical performance / fireworks. Technology, to a certain extent, has reduced the attention span of users and i wonder how many are truly appreciating the music. 

Now's the segment that would make history in Singapore; breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest Chinese Drum Ensemble!

Drummers getting ready.

Here goes! To be totally honest, the use of a non-musical based venue has its acoustic disadvantages. The drumming echoed all over the stadium and what i heard was a scattered smattering of drumming.

Disappointment aside, the two emcees tried to excite the audience by having everyone to do the Kallang Wave! If i remember well, this would be the first Kallang Wave in the new stadium! 

The historic moment when it was announced that two Guinness World Records have been broken; for the largest Chinese drum ensemble and largest Chinese orchestra performance (with 4,557 musicians and choir members).

Historic moment mah; must take picture to commemorate the occasion. 

Musicians were drawn to the gigantic screen behind them where they would find snippets of their training and rehearsals that started as early as last year! All the time, the effort, the tears that were spent to make this mega-event a reality. Kudos to all musicians and performers! 

Finale - performance by Dick Lee who sang the song he penned for national day; Home! 

Leaving the stadium before everyone started scrambling out! As i mentioned in the beginning of this post, i don't like the crowd! Furthermore, my car was parked in another area that could only be reached via train or taxi! 

Needed to use the washroom too! 

Failed design for the urinals; i can bet it would not take long before someone mistaken them as toilet bowls and start to shit in them! You mark my words!

By the time we left, the whole place was already choked with people. Thanks to the ushers and police personnel who did a great job in crowd control and in answering many enquiries on directions! 

On a final note, we should also show our appreciation to many of the foreign workers who have to toil day and night in order to present to us the latest jewel of Singapore!

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Location
1, Stadium Drive
(Drop at Stadium Station)

Website

18 comments:

  1. U have a totally different angle from mine. ;D But your angle can see fireworks?!!!

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    1. hehehe, it did! The only sad part was that i could only see the performers from the side! :P

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    2. I'm glad for my seating angle though. Can see my child more easily. :D

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    3. Oh! Your child participated in this record breaking event?

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    4. Yeah. He was in the Gaohu section. No big deal like he said. So many people. Don't play properly also no one knows. HAHA.

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    5. Unity is strength; tell your son that! Everyone has a part to play regardless of whether it is for a performance or in any workplace. :)

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  2. Anonymous4:20 PM

    Wow! Thanks for the post! I was supposed to date my mum for this but the event soldout!!! Aargh.. At least I can witness some of the "GRANDNESS" in your post. Anyway, you are absolutely right, those are Cellos. You should be able to see their chunkier brothers- Double Bass too. I was from Chinese Orchestra in my younger years.. =P

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    1. There are so many events lined up for National Stadium and i believe you could bring your mom for another date soon to the new National Stadium! Remember to pre-purchase your parking if you drive!

      Oh i see!!! Isn't cello a Western instrument? Quite strange to see it in a Chinese orchestra. Haha

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    2. It is. In traditional chinese music, there is no low-toned instrument to balance out orchestral music. The Gehu & Diyin Gehu were created to counter this. Has huge snakeskin on them. But they were not as stable, so eventually more and more chinese orchestras started using cellos & double basses instead.The Hong Kong chinese Orchestra still uses Gehu though.

      http://www.cello.org/Newsletter/Articles/gehu.htm

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    3. Thanks for the explanation, Karmeleon!

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    4. I actually saw a "Ge-Hu" in a music shop one day many many years ago. If not, I would not even have known of it. It was some years later that I did see videos on Youtube of the HKCO with their Ge-Hus. Interesting - go take a look at HKCO vides.

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    5. I will!! not sure if i would even recognise it though. shall google the images instead... :P

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  3. Hey Cavin,

    Great post! Do check out our post of the new National Stadium at the Sports Hub as well!

    Happy Travels!

    Tom,
    2bearbear.com

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  4. Hi, we would like to request for permission to use some of your photos for a project, kindly advise how we can contact you.

    Jerome

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    Replies
    1. sure! you may email me at a6729@singnet.com. :)

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  5. Anonymous10:43 PM

    dang super late but i was part of this !! i was at the top right corner and i couldn’t find aNY videos of me as in every single video i watched, none bothered to move all the way to their left to the corners! (my right) so frustrating!

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    1. would you want to tell me which picture and i can send you the picture in higher resolution?

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